Hitting of children
Submitted by Shaheen Kola on
Condition
Alhamdulillah Allah has entrusted me with beautiful children.
However, in the process of their upbringing, specifically my son who is now 7 years old, I tend to be more aggressive. At times when he does something wrong after showing him or not, my hand becomes loose on him. The last two occasions I noticed bruising. Instead of showing remorse and affection to him or in my heart, my reaction was, "I am the father and he deserves it". I notice that he is now starting to fear me, instead of respect. When I call him close to me, he approaches me with his hands covering himself. The hiding has not solved anything, as a 7 year old he is still playful and forgets. I have become like a beast and I still can't seem to contain my anger.
Answer
Jee as you also have understood this is
not at all the way to go. The
first thing now is to regain
his confidence and love; without which,
nothing will be achieved. After
that whenever he does something wrong;
correct him, keeping in mind
the following:
i) never do anything when you are
angry, in a state of anger, like being drunk, a person's senses do
not work right;
ii) never use vulgar, abusive
language, never taunt or be sarcastic;
iii) Explain, and let the person
understand, the wrong that has been done;
iv) Explain the solution and
the right thing that has to be done.
This is of course much more
difficult and time consuming than just shouting, screaming or even
hitting; but, it is the only way that will bear fruit.